The results of a study published in JAMA indicates that patients with non-obstructive meniscal tears may be able to avoid surgery by following a physical therapy protocol which consists of 16 sessions of exercise therapy for 8 weeks focused on coordination and closed, kinetic chain strength exercises.
The study, conducted by Victor A. van de Graaf, MD, and colleagues randomly assigned 321 patients with nonobstructive meniscal tears to undergo either arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or the physical therapy protocol. The results indicated that knee function that was measured by a self-administered questionnaire improved by 20.4 points in the physical therapy group vs 26.2 points in the early surgery group over a follow-up period of 24 months. The difference between the 2 treatment groups did not exceed the noninferiority margin of 8 points.
This blog post was created by Planetrehab and is strictly informational and should not be used as a replacement for advice from a doctor or professional caregiver. Planetrehab combines comprehensive but easy-to-use scheduling, documentation, billing, reporting and collections for single or multi-clinic physical therapy and occupational therapy companies. Our practice management software is integrated with our practice management service that includes access to our team of experienced management consultants that will help identify and correct potential lost revenue and maximize per visit submissions and to our expert management staff that has experience identifying and correcting deficient areas of any practice.
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